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Author and filmmaker, Egar Keret, offered these observations about babies in "Big Baby," in The New York Times Magazine (April 6, 2006)...

"When I was a kid, my parents took me to Europe. The high point of the trip wasn't Big Ben or the Eiffel Tower, but the flight from Israel to London �" specifically, the meal. There on the tray was a tiny can of Coca-Cola and, next to it, a box of cornflakes not much bigger than a pack of cigarettes.

"My surprise at the miniature packages didn't turn into genuine excitement until I opened them and discovered that the Coke tasted like the Coke in regular-size cans and that the cornflakes were real, too. It's hard to explain where that excitement actually came from. All we're talking about is a soft drink and a breakfast cereal in much smaller packages, but when I was 7, I was sure that I was witnessing a miracle.

"And today, 30 years later, sitting in my living room in Tel Aviv and looking at my 2-week-old son, I have exactly the same feeling: there's a man who weighs no more than 10 pounds �" but inside he's angry, bored, frightened, and serene, just like any other man on this planet. Put a three-piece suit and a Rolex on him, stick a tiny attache case in his hand and send him out into the world and he'll negotiate, do battle, and close deals without even blinking. He doesn't talk, that's true. He also soils himself as if there were no tomorrow. I'm the first to admit that he has a thing or two to learn before he can be shot into space or allowed to fly an F-16. But in principle, he's a complete person wrapped in a 19-inch package, and not just any person, but a very extreme one, an eccentric, a character �" the kind you respect, but may not completely understand. Because, like all complex people, regardless of their height or weight, he has many sides.

"... I have to say that my baby is the first truly enlightened person I have ever met. He truly lives in the present: he never bears a grudge, never fears the future. He's totally ego-free. He never tries to defend his honor or take credit.

"... the truly unnerving thing about my 2-week-old son: he doesn't have a drop of morality, not an ounce. Racism, inequality, insensitivity, discrimination �" he couldn't care less. He has no interest in anything beyond his immediate drives and desires."

Contributed by Exchange, The Early Childhood Leaders' Magazine Since 1978

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